REGION: Schools perform well in annual safety inspections

By GARY WARTH and STACY BRANDT - Staff Writers | Thursday, December 18, 2008 10:39 PM PST ∞

NORTH COUNTY ----- Fire department officials routinely find violations during annual safety inspections at public schools in the region, an examination of inspection reports revealed.

The North County Times discovered after reviewing fire safety inspection reports from several school districts that, while most schools were out of compliance with some aspects of the fire code, most of the violations were minor and quickly corrected, according to officials.

On the surface, the violations may seem trivial ---- improper use of extension cords is a common problem ---- but several trivial violations combined could lead to bigger safety issues, Escondido fire Marshal Dominick Arena said.

"A violation can be as simple as an extension cord, but it's real important not to overload them," Arena said.

State law requires annual inspection of schools, and fire officials often find violations such as too much paper on walls, too many power strips or exits that are partially obstructed.

"Most of them had small corrections, like every building that we inspect," said Mike Margot, fire marshal for the Oceanside Fire Department.

Fire inspectors typically return within a month or two, and the school is subject to a $100 fine if violations are not corrected.

Fines get steeper if the violations continue, and in the most extreme case a school can be shut down if it repeatedly fails to correct violations.

"Depending on the gravity of the violation, if they're blocking exits chronically and endangering the public, they can be shut down," Arena said. "Enforcement comes into play only after we've done all we can do."

Such steps are unlikely, however.

A similar investigation by North County Times media partner NBC 7/39 found more serious issues in Chula Vista, where producer Paul Krueger said fire officials had not inspected some schools for at least five years.

Krueger said fire officials told him they have a shortage of inspectors.

Krueger also said one San Diego school had an exit door padlocked from the outside, and Salt Creek Elementary in Chula Vista had no fire sprinklers in one portable building.

In North County, three schools in Oceanside received warnings last month for failing to correct fire code violations found during the past 12 months: Palmquist Elementary, South Oceanside Elementary and Lincoln Middle schools.

The city has about 40 public and private schools, including Oceanside Unified and Vista Unified campuses.

The number of violations at each school varied this year.

Two schools ---- Libby Elementary and Ocean Shores High ---- had no problems, but other schools had as many as 20 violations.

When inspected in March, El Camino High School had 77 violations, mostly minor housekeeping issues similar to those at other campuses.

In Escondido, 18 schools had minor violations this year, compared with 12 schools that had none. San Marcos schools had fewer violations overall this year.

Although fire inspectors are looking for the same kinds of safety violations, how they are reported can vary from city to city or even among inspectors.

In Escondido, the Classical Academy had eight violations, more than any other school in the city this year.

Violations included a file cabinet in an exit corridor, damaged drywall near a kiln, missing fire extinguishers and insufficient clearance around a water heater.

"These aren't real serious violations," Arena said, adding that even small infractions are taken seriously because the state has set the bar high when it comes to fire safety.

Modern schools are designed with input from fire-safety professionals, Arena said, and inspections aim to help bring them back into compliance.

Wear and tear on buildings accounts for some violations; others are made unintentionally by people unaware of the regulations.

At the Classical Academy, some of the violations are because of the school's age. The 25-year-old building on Bear Valley Parkway was a Montessori school before the Escondido Union School District bought it two years ago.

Cameron Curry, chief business officer of the Classical Academy, said he appreciates the inspections.

"When it comes to fire inspections, we love it when they come through because it gives us a chance to see where we can improve," he said. "We're pleased when they come through and they find areas of concern, and we're happy to comply."

Schools in Vista were inspected this month.

Before the inspections, Vista Unified's maintenance director, Jeff Geyer, sent each principal a list of common violations to avoid.

In general, Geyer said, he thinks schools are much safer than most homes and business.

No one has died in a school fire nationwide in 50 years, he said.

Most of the problems can be corrected quickly and easily by teachers or custodians at the school. When that's not the case, maintenance workers make them a priority, school officials said. They are usually taken care of within a couple of days, Geyer said.

"It's a big deal to us," he said. "We take it seriously."

Contact staff writer Gary Warth at (760) 740-5410 or gwarth@nctimes.com.